Happy New Year Fabricista's!
When considering appropriate colors and fabrics, I immediately thought of this gorgeous Maggy London sateen. It was a Julie's Pick last year and I believe one of my first Julie's Pick purchases. The pictures hardly do the colors on this dress justice. I tried two different times to take pictures with good lighting and the overcast winter weather beat me out both times! So believe me when I say the colors on this dress are so saturated and gorgeous. They put me in the mind of poinsettias.
When thinking of winter weddings in the South I usually don't worry too much about the weather and if I will be warm enough (we have such mild winters) but this wedding was going to be outdoors. So, I chose a little bit more coverage with a high neckline and sleeves. I have a beautiful black wool sweater that I wore along with the dress.
One thing I LOVE about Fabric Mart (and I am sure you do too!) are the gorgeous designer fabrics they offer. I have never been disappointed in a designer fabric purchased from Fabric Mart and I think the quality is always outstanding.
The sateen featured here is no longer available but other Maggy London sateens can be found HERE. I always keep an eye out for cotton sateen with saturated colors because sateen is such a dream to sew. It is a very fuss free fabric and the hand is so smooth.
The pattern for this dress is a frankenpattern of two of my favorite sheath patterns. The top portion is from Butterick 5947 which I made last winter, you can see that post HERE and the skirt portion is from out of print Butterick 5316 that I blogged a couple years ago, you can see that post HERE. I love to experiment with frankenpatterns and sometimes the result isn't quite as great as the original design but it still gives me a little sewing thrill!
The two patterns melded fairly easily since they were both from Butterick and were both sheath dresses. I had some interesting excess in the lining of the dress and some bumps along the way trying to figure out how to enclose as many seams as possible with as little hand stitching as possible. I always end up hand basting the zipper in and then stitching it down and its not quite as perfect as I had wished but still very passable.
If you are interested in frankenpatterning the top of one dress with the skirt of another I'd say go for it! But make sure you compare the waist seams carefully and measure them to see if they are pretty close in circumference.
If you are interested in frankenpatterning the top of one dress with the skirt of another I'd say go for it! But make sure you compare the waist seams carefully and measure them to see if they are pretty close in circumference.
The catch stitch that I used for the hemline is awesome!! I can't believe I haven't taken the time to learn this stitch before now, it is sturdy, invisible and makes me feel like I showed the hemline some respect!! I picked up the technique from Colette sewing book. Here is a Thread's article explaining the technique but I really love reading about sewing techniques from a book. There's just something so cozy in the winter months when you curl up on the couch with a sewing book.
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| Buster is inspecting my handwork to make sure it's up to his high sewing standards...sheesh the sewing police is tough around here! |
McCall's 7464 : A beautiful sheath with side panels. It would be gorgeous in this wool or this wool!
McCall's 7279: A Palmer Pletsch pattern with a cute collar option. It would be beautiful in this Sultry Purple Cotton Sateen.
Butterick always makes my favorite sheath patterns so here's a few that I think look fun.
Butterick 5998: The seaming is gorgeous and would be so beautiful in this Stone Blue Wool/Poly Crepe Suiting.
Butterick 6332: This dress might be more of a shift but it still looks fairly fitted to me. I really love this pattern because it has tons of options and who doesn't love that?! I am wondering what a version with this Gold Jacquard down the middle and black panels on the side would look like? Or maybe this Abstract Brocade .
Simplicity 1060: This is another pattern with panels for color blocking or if you don't want to color block those panels can also help you get a great fit.
Vogue 8872: I love all the options on this pattern too and it would be such a wardobe basic in this Pewter Wool.
I love a great excuse to make a dressy-dress and weddings are the perfect excuse. I also know that this dress will transition well into spring since, as my husband says, "those flowers look like cherry blossoms." I love a piece like this that can cover most seasons, you really get more bang for your buck in your closet.
Thank you so much for reading and I wish you many successful sewing projects in the new year to come.
Elizabeth
Lovely dress, and it fits you so beautifully! Thank you for sharing the pattern/fabric pairings- great suggestions!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Ann for your kind words! I am glad you like the pairings, its always fun to dream up more projects!
DeleteGreat job on the dress! I wish I had those sewing skills! I appreciate the pattern/fabric pairings, too. Very inspiring! Thank you! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you! I am so glad you liked the pairings. As far as sewing skills go, I am mostly self taught which means that many of my first dresses were kind of pitiful but with time, tutorials and trial and error I have improved and I am sure you would too!
DeleteSuper dress, it looks gorgeous on and the fabric is lovely. I love the style of of the dress too, great frankenpatterning
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your sweet words!
DeleteWhat a gorgeous and yet simple dress. I love how crisp the black is and how vibrant the pinks! Lovely!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Colleen! I appreciate your encouragement!
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